During his term as chairman from 1994-2003, ISRO set new benchmarks, including the operation of numerous launch vehicles and launch of space scientific missions
Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan, who was 30 years old and recently-married in 1970, was extremely conflicted.
Should he accept the enticing offers from overseas to continue with his research or have faith in Sarabhai’s grand vision for India's space programme and take up his offer to join the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which was merely months old?
He had just submitted his thesis on experimental high-energy astronomy. He had dreamed of joining Prof Louis Alvarez at the University of California in Berkeley for postdoctoral work and had received an offer from the prestigious institution.
Hardly months earlier, Dr Vikram Sarabhai had established the ISRO and asked Kasturirangan to join it.
“My own interests were in high-energy astronomy. I believed that without an engineering background in structures, power, control, communication, electro-optical systems, etc., I would be unable to contribute towards building satellites,” Kasturirangan shared later.
On Friday (April 25), Kasturirangan former ISRO chief and chairperson of the drafting committee behind the ambitious new National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, passed away in Bengaluru.
Interest in astronomy
Kasturirangan's interest in astronomy commenced as a young child. His mother died while he was a child, and his father later remarried. He and his younger brother remained with his grandparents in Ernakulam.
At the same time, his father travelled to Bombay (now Mumbai) to work for Tata Airlines (later Air India). As a young child, he was fascinated with the stars.
"I distinctly remember gazing up in sheer awe at the beautiful Ernakulam night sky. My uncle, Mr Narayanamurthy Subramaniam, advised me that if I really wanted to understand the secrets of the cosmos, I had to study physics and mathematics," he added.
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After early schooling at Sree Rama Varma High School in Ernakulam, Kasturirangan and his brother moved to live with their father in Mumbai. There, he graduated in science with honours from Ramnarain Ruia College, Mumbai, and later obtained his Master of Science degree in physics from the University of Mumbai.
Fellowship at Ahmedabad
“Towards the end of working on my master's, I came across a newspaper advertisement for fellowships at the Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) in Ahmedabad," said Kasturirangan.
At Ahmedabad, Kasturirangan felt welcomed. Recalling his days as a graduate student at PRL, he said, "There was an exceptional degree of freedom for discussion of ideas, and exchanges between juniors and seniors were unencumbered by hierarchies. Nowhere was this more evident than with Prof Vikram Sarabhai, who was simply addressed as ‘Vikram Bhai’ by peons and professors alike despite his towering personality. This uniquely egalitarian culture and the fact that PRL was emerging as the cradle for India's Space Programme added excitement to my early experience."
The doctorate study involved X-rays, gamma rays, and cosmic rays. His superiors advised him to construct detectors and undertake experiments.
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"I developed a device to detect particle and electromagnetic radiation and flew it in a balloon at altitudes up to thirty kms," he said.
Aside from the excitement of building experimental platforms and taking measurements, this experience provided him with a system-level perspective rather than a piecemeal understanding of individual aspects such as electronic circuits, gas discharge, and telemetry, as well as insights into the concepts of integrating electrically and mechanically multiple elements of an experimental payload to conduct physics investigations.
At a crossroads
At a crucial crossroads in his life, Kasturirangan faced a significant decision. Should he follow his passion for astronomy and accept the postdoctoral offer from Prof Louis Alvarez's lab, or should he join the fledgling ISRO, which was only a few months old? Who knows if a poor country like India will vigorously pursue space technology?
"It was Dr Sarabhai who changed my mind by pointing out how my understanding of physics and my end-to-end grasp of systems, which had been honed by experience with balloon payloads as part of my thesis work, would be invaluable in working with multidisciplinary technology systems".
Kasturirangan joined Prof UR Rao's team to construct a 40-kg Rohini satellite. The construction of this tiny satellite was tied to that of our own Satellite Launch Vehicle (SLV), SLV-3.
Stepping stone
Building on this experience, when the Soviet Union volunteered to offer its launch vehicles to place Indian satellites into orbit, ISRO launched its first large satellite, Aryabhata, which weighed 358 kg.
“Professor Rao made me responsible for overseeing the totality of Aryabhata as a systems engineer, which gave me tremendous insight into the configuration aspects of the satellite and the intricate details of programme management", said Kasturirangan.
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The success of the Aryabhata satellite was a stepping stone, after which there was no turning back. Kasturirangan was selected as Project Director for India's first experimental earth observation satellite (Bhaskara) and later in charge of space-based remote-sensing operations under the Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) project.
He oversaw the development of the experimental Bhaskara-1 and -2 and the Remote Sensing satellite IRS-1A.
ISRO Satellite Centre Director
He was appointed the ISRO Satellite Centre (ISAC) director in 1990, now known as the UR Rao Satellite Centre (URSC). Kasturirangan said we must be conversant with the technology and related elements even when purchasing a sophisticated system.
When ISRO opted to acquire the cryogenic engine and stage for the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), Prof Dhawan advised that ISRO create a one-tonne cryogenic engine in-house.
"It assisted us not only in gaining fundamental knowledge, but also in developing a strong team of engineers who gained insight into the complicated technologies of the cryogenic engine and stage. When we ultimately chose to acquire the engine from Russia in the early 1990s, we were able to negotiate the finest possible conditions, both financially and technologically," recalled Kasturirangan.
INSAT-2 – India's telecom backbone
Similarly, ISRO acquired INSAT-1 from the United States but opted to create its own multi-purpose geostationary satellite, the INSAT-2 system.
With his decades of experience, he oversaw the development of this new-generation telecommunication system, the Indian National Satellite System (INSAT-2), a series of five geostationary satellites developed and operated by ISRO for telecommunications, broadcasting, meteorology, and search-and-rescue in India. ISRO, the Department of Space, the Department of Telecommunications, the Indian Meteorological Department, and All India Radio worked together to develop the initiative.
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The programme aimed to retain two operational satellites at geostationary locations about 74°E and 93°E, replacing the old with the new on an approximately 5-year cycle. Five indigenous satellites were launched: INSAT-2A, INSAT-2B, INSAT-2C, INSAT-2D, and INSAT-2E. These satellites became India's telecommunications backbone.
Vision as chairman of ISRO
He was the chairman of ISRO for over a decade (1994-2003). During his term as chairman, ISRO achieved new heights in all aspects of its operations, including the operation of numerous launch vehicles, satellite application projects, and the launch of full-fledged space scientific missions.
During his tenure, he successfully launched and operationalised India's flagship launch vehicle, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and the first successful flight testing of the all-important Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV).
He also contributed to the launch of the third-generation INSAT spacecraft and the IRS-P3/P4 ocean observation satellite.
His vision has also facilitated India’s advances in the global space market. Today, other nations benefit from India’s high-level technical workforce and commercial offerings of launch vehicles, satellites, subsystems, and earth observation data.
Other spheres
Following his remarkable career at ISRO, Dr Kasturirangan served in various capacities as a Rajya Sabha member and then as a member of the Indian Planning Commission. Later, he became the director of the prominent National Institute of Advanced Studies (NIAS) Bengaluru and the chairman of Karnataka Jnana Aayoga (Karnataka Knowledge Commission).
Reflecting on his life, Kasturirangan attributed his rise from a humble background to positions of prominence to the evolution of India's complex society from an intensely-hierarchical system to a more egalitarian setup facilitated by major social and political upheavals, disruptive technological progress, and transformative economic developments.
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Recalling his school-college days, he said, "The footpaths of Matunga were lined with numerous book vendors, and I happily parted with four annas (one quarter of a rupee) in exchange for a second-hand book on mythology or history, or for a novel by Conan Doyle, Victor Hugo, or Alexander Dumas," and added "In hindsight, my education was a merry mix of what happened inside the school, the wide range of things that I read, and the many wonderful people I interacted with. This broad-based education has served as the foundation for my whole life."
Numerous awards
This life experience served him well when he was recently appointed chair of a group tasked with developing an essential National Education Policy. He pushed fiercely for a solid liberal arts curriculum that included history, classical literature, science, technology, and mathematics.
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He was a member of the International Astronomical Union and the International Academy of Astronautics and the chairman of the governing board of the United Nations Centre for Space Science and Technology Education.
He received numerous awards, including the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award in Engineering, the Shri Hari Om Ashram Prerit Dr Vikram Sarabhai Award in Aerospace, the MP Birla Memorial Award in Astronomy, the Shri MM Chugani Memorial Award in Applied Science, the HK Firodia Award in Science Technology, the RathindraPuraskar by Visvabharati, Santiniketan, and the Dr MN Saha Birth Centenary Medal for outstanding contributions to space.
The Government of India awarded him three civilian honours: Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.
